Skin Isn't The Only Thing That Can Burn
by Siiillltt
Summary: After a bitter and physical argument with a certain firebender, the Avatar is in dire need of comfort and reassurance. She found just the person she was looking for.


_It's a smooth road,_ Korra thought, _nothing will go wrong._

Korra's current state would be frightening to an outsider. Her unique, natural face was tainted by a deep red burn that was covered with a blue-colored cloth. Her blue training pants were burned up to her lower thigh, but with no evidence of an attack on her leg itself. Her hair was unaffected, but it had almost completely fallen out of its bindings.

It was dark, in the middle of the night. Not exactly the middle of the night, but pretty close. Korra could hardly see ahead of her Satomobile, even with the headlights on. The idea of crashing didn't worry her, though. For all she was worth, in her opinion, what did it matter? Perhaps it was time for a new Avatar to take her place. Perhaps she had done enough in her lifetime, and the world needed a fresh Avatar. One who wasn't afraid of the people she loved, who wasn't afraid, who would put others before herself more of the time than she did. Someone who wasn't her.

_You're useless, Korra. Look at how much I've done for you, and you tsll me you have feelings for my BROTHER? That's sick. You're sick, Korra." she felt some of his spit hit her face._

_"Mako, quit yelling! I told you, the feelings I have for Bolin aren't... If you can'5 deal with my emotions-" she couldn't think of a way to respond, so she just lowered her head in a very out of character way and began to walk away._

_Am I even talking to Mako? _ Korra thought to herself.

_Am I even talking to Korra? _Mako thought to himself.

_Mako grabbed her arm and forced her to_ _turn around to face him. He stared at her with an enormity of emotions in his eyes. Frustration, anger, betrayal._ _A silent tear fell from her face, and she threw_ _a __weak fistful of air at him as_ _a warning to stay away. His expression registered only_ _a __small amount of surprise as he grabbed her face to make her look at him._

_That was her breaking point. All emotions in her eyes disappeared, replaced with a glow he knew all too well. No matter how familiar it was, though, it was the first time it was used because of him. He was not afraid, he truly believed that she would not make a move to hurt him. But he was still angry. His hands still resting on her left cheek, began to quickly rise in temperature with intent. Korra left the Avatar State in shock. She let out a sharp yell of pain, kicking him hard in the stomach and causing him to fall on his back. She darted to the door._

_Mako reached out to her. "Wait, Korra! I'm sorry!"_

_But his efforts failed. His reaching arm let out a tiny blast of fire, singeging the Avatar's pants. She stopped for a moment , perhaps ready to attack him._

_"It'_s_ over, Mako," she said in the calmest voice she could at the time. And with that, she left._

Korra put a gentle hand to her cheek, wincing understandably at the pain the burn caused. She hasn't got the chance to heal it since she left Mako's home. But now she would never get the chance.

Korra saw the stone building a bit farther down. She knew what she was going to do, and she wasn't going to let herself double-think it. This is what her fate would be, she decided. But the history books wouldn't know. It would be...an accident.

She closed her eyes, bracing herself. This was it. After this, no more Mako. No more responsibilities, no more duties to the world. The next Avatar would enjoy the time if peace she had created. The thought made her happy. People leading happy lives because of what she had done.

"No more Mako," she repeated to herself a few times. Impatiently, she opened her eyes to check her distance from the stone wall. She found herself some meters away from the building, but also only feet away from Avatar Aang.

"Korra," Aang said sadly. She sighed and looked away from her most recent predecessor.

Turning around, she saw another man.

"Korra, please," Avatar Roku said desperately. Korra didn't want to see anyone or anything but darkness. She tried to turn her car on again, but failed. There was no more fuel. Korra hit the steering wheel aggressively, causing it to break into two pieces. She brought her knees to her chest and tucked her head into them, tightly wrapping her arms around herself.

"Korra, please listen to me." She looked up, seeing the familiar face of Avatar Wan. She put her head back down, her sobs beginning to subside. The former Avatar waited patiently for her to calm down. She eventually did.

"I understand that I can't help you right now, and that's okay," he began. "Because I'm not the one who is meant to. Your friend, Mako, is not the only person in the world. Know that your past lives will always be here to guide you. A friend will be here for you soon, Avatar Korra." Avatar Wan's body faded away, causing her to start shaking again. She felt so strange... she didn't want to be alone. But she also didn't want to be alive. She wanted Avatar Wan to stay and talk to her. She needed somebody. She needed someone she loved, someone who loved her back.

Korra groaned in-between sobs and exited the fuel-less car, collapsing on the grassy floor surrounding the stone building. She just wanted to forget Mako. Forget everything. She just wanted to disappear. Why did she have to run out of fuel? Why couldn't she just go a bit longer? Maybe if she had just gone a little faster...

The crying just wouldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried. She laid on the ground, feeling so lost and just..absolutely terrible. Not a single Satomobile went by in several minutes. She just laid there, playing with the grass between her fingers. She laid for at least an hour before a lone Satomobile passed. Of course, something had to happen. She recognized the car as Bolin's.

Bolin...the one who was a part of her current state of misery. But she knew that he wasn't to blame. How could she be made at kind, loyal, caring, strong Bolin? Although she wasn't sure if he was the one she was up to facing. But as his Satomobile came closer, she realized that all she had just went through was for him, she did it for him. It wouldn't be fair to do that to him. He would find out what happened sooner or later, so he might as well hear it from the most legitimate and plausible source. The one who wouldn't twist the truth of the story.

At one in the morning, it only makes sense that Bolin would want to know why Korra's Satomobile would be parked by a random abandoned building. He parked and left his car to find Korean it wasn't too difficult as she was literally just a few meters away. He began to approach her.

"Bolin?" She said in a small voice, sitting up. For the first time since she reached the stone walls she began to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She could barely see him, and she assumed he could barely see her. She was grateful for that, given her current state.

"Oh, hey, Korra! Are you alright, do you need anything?" he spoke to her with such enthusiasm. Her eyes widened. No matter how bad she was feeling at the time she realized right then that it was all worth it. Everything that just happened was worth it. It will get better. All she needed was a comfortable shoulder to cry on, something that Mako could not provide, and she had found one. Her feelings for Bolin were not empty of invalid, she was not wrong to feel the way she did.

"Uh... Korra? I can come back...later," Bolin said worriedly, prepared to give her all the space she wanted and needed.

Korra just sat there, watching Bolin, silently hoping he would stay with her. Bolin stared at her for another moment before moving to sit next to her. He made no effort to physically comfort her, not knowing if she would be okay with it. Just him being there suddenly triggered Korra's previous emotional state. She started sobbing softly. That was when Bolin put his arms around her and pulled her close to him, causing her to cry more. This was Bolin. She knew she could trust him. He would never do anything to intentionally hurt or offend her. Looking back at all that they had been through, she realized she had only ever hurt him, no bad arguments. Just happiness. He loved her as she was, not just because she was the Avatar.

"Bolin, please don't leave," Korra said, creating an abrupt pause in her crying. Bolin didn't say anything for a while, he just pulled her even closer and wiped her tears with his hand.

He moves his hand toward the blue tear-stained cloth on her face, looking at her for permission. When she doesn't protest, he removes it slowly, as to not irritate whatever is underneath. Even in this level of darkness, he could still see that there was an unmistakable deep red burn. He brought his hand underneath her chin and gently brought her head up to look her in the eye. He could see that this was no accident. And he thought he knew exactly who was responsible. He was afraid it was true, he didn't want it to be.

"Who hurt you?" Bolin asked abruptly, but with great care. Her body twitched and he decided she would tell him when she was ready. For now he would just hold her for as long as she needed. He'd be there to listen when she was ready to talk. He would never leave this girl. The most beautiful girl on the world. The most strong, talented, smart... he loved her so much. He wished so badly they could be together. But if she wanted to be with his brother and it made her happy, then so be it. All he wanted was for Korra to have happiness. And when she didn't, he would do everything in his power to make her so, as he was doing now.

After she'd calmed down more, she spoke with a broken voice. "It was my fault. I should have just kept my mouth shut. Nothing would've happened if I hadn't said anything."

That opened up quite a bit of possibilities. Perhaps Mako wasn't the one responsible. "Who hurt you?" Bolin repeated. He prepared himself to hear it.

Korra let out a deep sigh. "It was Mako."

No matter that he knew it was coming, it still hurt that his own brother could do something so horrible to someone so precious. There was definitely going to be a talk later.

"Why would he do this?" Bolin asked, watching her expression carefully.

Korra breathed deeply and waited a small amount of time, building herself up to say it. "It was my fault. I told him..." she paused, "I told him that..." She couldn't continue.

Bolin grabbed her hand, the one closest to him, and held it gently yet firmly. "Told Mako what, Korra?"

She squinted, pulling her legs in closer to her chest. "I told him...ugh!" she hit her head against the wall, creating a small dent with her earthbending. "I told him that I have feelings for you."

That got to him. His eyes widened in genuine surprise and a million thoughts rushed to his mind at once. He couldn't think now, he reminded himself. This was about Korra, not him. He brought her into a big, strong hug, as so to tell her that it was okay, it will be okay. He won't go. Korra finally hugged him back, letting all of her emotions come out and onto his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him and tucked her head into his chest.

After 15 or so minutes, Korra finally calmed down and rested into him. "Home?" Bolin asked. She nodded but made no effort to move.

"I have no gasoline," she said, hoping he would help her with a solution.

"We can use mine!" Bolin said, regaining his cheerful smile.

And so they did. Bolin carried Korra to his Satomobile and carefully placed her in the passenger seat. He gave her another hug before moving to sit in the driver's seat. The drive to Korra's home-she lived in a small house by herself-was not too long, but it was definitely comfortable. The lights they passed traveling through Republic City allowed Bolin to see her face more clearly. The burn was very evident. When she noticed Bolin looking at it, she turned away. He kept shifting his gaze from the road to Korra and back. He was grateful that she was at his side.

"So what were you doing out driving so late?" Korra asked.

"Oh!" Bolin said happily. "There's a new thing someone came up with to replace pro-bending! I just found out today!" he said it with such passion and excitement that Korra showed a small smile. "Well, yesterday." He added, looking at the dark sky. He gave a big smile.

They don't talk for a while after that. He enjoyed looking at her. Examining her. The most beautiful girl. He wish he never had to look away, but the idea of crashing his Satomobile didn't exactly appeal to him.

"Bolin?" Korra said, looking out the window.

He looked at her, silently urging her to speak.

"I really really like you. I mean, I like you, a lot," she blushed.

Bolin contemplated his next move carefully, he leaned over and kissed her lightly yet lovingly on the cheek. "I really really like you, too." he smiled. She finally looked over at him and gave him a wholehearted smile.

And they were both happy at that moment.

While Bolin could not take a break from his work, Korra was able to stay home for a while and sort her thoughts out. She practiced her bending for a couple hours every day. She avoided firebending for a few days and focused mainly on improving her airbending. Of course, she worked on firebending eventually, but she was pretty hesitant to do so.

She had decided not to heal the burn on her face, but for selfish reasons. She wanted it to serve as a reminder to Mako for what he had done to her. She'd probably regret it later, she knew. But she was too stubborn to care.

The previous night, Bolin had stopped by her house to ask if she wanted to go with him to a restaurant the following day, and she agreed. He said that she needed to do something fun. And also eat something other than homemade sea prunes.

"This better not be anything too expensive, Bolin. After all that happened, I'm not sure I want you to pay more than whatever this is worth." Korra said as they were on their way.

"Don't worry! Me and my brother went here when we were kids. It's amazing!" He said excitedly, not denying the expensive part. "Even if it is a bit pricey, I'd pay anything to see the most amazingly beautifulest girl in the world have a great night!"

Korra chuckled a bit. "You didn't tell me Asami was going to be there,"

Bolin had a genuinely surprised look on his face. "What? No! She's- ohhh..." he laughed both at Korra's joke and himself. He reached a hand from the steering wheel to her knee and she accepted it, leaning into his shoulder.

"This is going to be the best date EVER! I'll make sure of it!" Bolin smiled that big smile of his, the one that always made Korra feel so warm inside.

"Date? You never told me this was a date," Korra said playfully.

"Well, if you don't want it to be, then-" she cut him off by kissing his cheek.

"It's a date."

Once they arrived at their destination, it only took both of them a blink of an eye to realize how nice this place was. Well, not as much so visibly, although the decorations were nice, too. What astonished Korra was the excellent staff. The moment they stepped into the restaurant, they were immediately greeted by this very nice Fire Nation man. Young but matured with a tight Fire Nation hairstyle, he introduced himself as Lee, their server for the day. He bowed to them. He also bowed to Korra herself, saying "Avatar" in a way that screamed adoration and respect.

She smiled as she bowed back.

"Today, we're just ordinary citizens of Republic City. Thank you very much, Lee," Korra said. He nodded his head, leading the pair to their table.

After the two had ordered their meals-a very un-Fire Nationy pasta for Korra and a octopus-duck salad for Bolin ("What? I'm trying to lose a few pounds." "That sounds really disgusting.")- they initiated quiet conversation. She leaned into him and held both of his hands. "I'm surprised that Lee didn't say anything about this," she pointed to her cheek, which she was allowing to heal naturally.

Bolin grabbed her pointing hand and gently returned it to where it was before. "Me too."

They stayed like that for a while and Korra began to zone out, eventually drifting into a peaceful unconsciousness. He didn't move, just held her so she would not awaken. He told himself he'd wake her once their meals came. Several people walked by and smiled at the romantic sight. "Young love," an elderly man whispered to his wife, smiling as if reminiscing on the days when they, too, were young. His wife shot a loving glance at her husband as she pulled him along. Bolin couldn't help but hope that he and Korra would one day do the same.

There was a cough at a table nearby behind them. He knew that cough, unfortunately. He wish he didn't, he wished that cough would escape his memory permanently. Maybe then he wouldn't have instinctually turned around.

And there he was. Without a mistake, it was the person he wanted to see the least at that moment: Mako. He just so happened to have Asami by his side. He squinted in anger at the sight. How could he get over Korra in such a small amount of time? Did he really care this little about her? On the inside, Bolin was furious, but made no move, letting Korra rest. He stared at Mako, still squinting in fury. Right when he was about to look away, Mako noticed him and met his eyes. The older brother's eyes widened at the sight of the Avatar in Bolin's arms. Bolin gave him a look that said "You made the worst mistake you could've possibly made." He looked away.

"Bolin..." Mako murmured quietly. Asami looked at Mako and then followed his line of sight to see the couple. She sighed.

Lee finally returned with the food, placing it on the table and silently walking away with a bow. Bolin wondered how many times he bowed in a single day.

Bolin gently shook Korra awake. She slowly opened her eyes and she smiled. He smiled back and kissed her cheek. Mako quietly echoed Asami's earlier sigh. They began their meals, laughing at eachother's cheesy jokes with full mouths. Bolin wondered what he had done to earn this, to be able to make Korra smile and laugh while he was just as happy as her. He was so, so grateful. He completely forgot his brother was there.

"The bathroom awaits me," Korra said, showing a poorly-executed "Ive-Gotta-PEE!" look. Bolin laughed as she quickly excused herself, pushing her chair in and turning around to approach the restroom.

Korra began walking when she heard a horrified gasp. She stopped walking and looked to where the sound came from. Korra gasped in return, seeing Asami with Mako's arms around her. Mako looked up and saw the reason for the drama.

"Korra... what happened?" Asami whispered so that she would not draw any attention to the trio.

Korra somehow wasn't surprised that Mako hadn't said anything to Asami about it by now. Bolin, having heard the two gasps, was now watching this quiet little scene, prepared to get up if Korra needed him to. He knew that the longer Korra waited for a confrontation, the worse it would play out

She started walking away, past the table, but something stopped her. A hand. Mako's hand. It grabbed her wrist. She couldn't believe he would even dare make that move. But he wasn't looking at Korra as he did it, he was looking behind her. Korra didn't see, but Bolin gave Mako the nastiest look he could.

Bolin was astonished that Korra wasn't standing up for herself. In the years he had known her, one of her main characteristics that had really stood out to him was being confident enough to defend herself both physically and verbally. What happened to her? What had his brother done to ruin her confidence?

"Don't touch me." Korra said sourly. Asami was looking more confused than ever.

"Korra, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I am so, so, so, so, so sorry I did it. Please, Korra," Mako pleaded. Korra looked him in the eyes for sincerity. While she could tell he was being honest, he wasn't being sincere. She knew this wouldn't be the last time he would hurt her if she forgave him. Even if she wanted to, she didn't love him. She loved Bolin. It just wasn't meant to be, it would never happen. Besides, why should she think he loves or even has an ounce of respect for her when the evidence was right there: Asami.

Korra stuttered a bit, holding back her emotions. "I said, don't touch me! Let me go!" Her voice rose just above a whisper, but Bolin could still hear.

And Mako still didn't let her go.

"Korra, please! Stop making this so difficult!"

Korra forcefully pulled her arm away from Mako and accidentally hit herself in the stomach. "I'm making this difficult?!" she yelled at him, forgetting everything and everyone else. "I'm not the one who burned the girl that he said he loved! All I did was be honest with you, and you did this! I can't even be-" she stopped talking after noticing Asami's expression. She didn't deserve to be caught in the middle of this. In that moment she realized that Asami wasn't the only surprised one. The entire restaurant was watching now.

Korra ran towards the restroom, and Asami found her. Mako looked back to his brother who was staring him down with a fierce fire in his eyes. Bolin abruptly stood up and stormed out or the restaurant. Mako groaned and followed him, meeting him just outside.

Bolin made a threatening look as soon as he noticed Mako's presence.

"Look, bro, whatever Korra told you, there's more to the story. I was just so angry and-"

"Save it, Mako. Let me talk." Bolin interrupted. "I think you forgot what you did. Let me remind you. Korra tells you that she has feelings for me. Which, by the way, wasn't her way of breaking up with you. It was just her way of asking for your help, help to figure out how to deal with her emotions in _your _favor. All she cared about was you. She would've done anything for you, and you burn her FACE, Mako! What did you do to her? What did you do to demolish her confidence? What did you do that caused her to feel this weak? Two years ago, she wouldn't allow anyone to do something like this to her without punishment. Tell me, Mako! What did you do?!"

Mako said nothing. He felt too terrible, too regretful for what he had done. He knew what he did was wrong, and he felt so, so bad. He wished he could take it all back. Bolin sighed an exaggerated-sounding and miserable sigh.

"Or don't tell me. Whatever, Mako." There was a pause. "Remember when we were kids and you practically raised me? Not practically, actually. You _did_ raise me. You sacrificed your happiness just so I could be happy. You raised me to be who I am today. You did everything in your power to protect your little brother from the world's nightmares. And I thank you so much. I am so grateful for everything you have done for me, Mako. Please don't ever forget that. I hope you're proud of who I am today, Mako, because that's all I have ever wanted you to be: to be proud of me. I am furious with you, I am so furious with you. You hurt the one person I care about more than anyone and anything in the world. And that is something I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive. You betrayed the one you said you loved, and left her running into my arms.

"Mako, big brother, I think you know what happens next. Don't ever try to communicate with me again, don't ever try to correspond in any way. You can expect the same from me.

"I'm also asking that you never try to talk to Korra until she is ready. Even if I never forgive you, I know that she will someday."

Mako listened carefully. He nodded once the speech was over, sincerely and honestly implying that he would obey.

"I love you, bro," Bolin brought him into a teary hug. Mako hugged him back, knowing that this might just be the last one that they would ever share.

"I love you too, Bolin." Both had a look of deep sadness on their faces.

And so the couples divided, and went to their respective homes. After paying, of course.

Bolin was listening to the radio music while practicing his Earthbending stances with Korra the following morning. He couldn't stand radio music like he used to, but he dealt with it since Korra seemed to like it. The Earthbender searched time and time again for a flaw in the Avatar's movements, but he could not find a single one. Because, like her bending, she was flawless. He would make sure to tell her every day. Later one, he would leave cheesy little notes around their future home. He did and would do whatever he could to please her.

"Let's take a break," Korra suggested. He smiled and shrugged with a "Sure."

They sat side-by-side on a platform that Bolin had Earthbent. He grabbed her hands and, as he looked at her underneath the slow-rising sun, Korra knew that this was true love. And nobody could take this away from them, because they would always find their way back to eachother. In this life, or in the next.

And so as he sat with her, gazing into her blue eyes as she gazed in to his green, they both smiled, forever happy to be in eachother's presence.

"I will always love you," Korra said.

"And I will always love you." Bolin echoed.

They kissed.


End file.
